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Advocates of the science of reading have invoked the simple view of reading (SVR) to justify an approach that foregrounds decoding in early reading instruction. The SVR, which describes comprehension as the product of decoding and listening comprehension, also served as the primary theoretical model underlying the Reading for Understanding (RfU) initiative. Research funded under the RfU initiative included direct examinations of the validity of the SVR and the nature of its underlying components and extended the SVR in studies of middle school and high school readers. In this article, the authors use research conducted under the RfU initiative to examine the validity and utility of the SVR, in general, and the appropriateness of its application in the “science of reading” debate. RfU research has provided not only evidence in support of the overall SVR model but also important cautions relevant to the “science of reading” debate. In particular, RfU has provided evidence regarding the significance of the listening comprehension component of the SVR, often overlooked by advocates of the science of reading. This research has documented the importance of early oral language skills, which support both decoding and listening comprehension in young readers and plays a critical role in students’success as readers as they move through school. In addition, RfU research has identified a complicated constellation of skills and knowledge that impact reading comprehension as students advance in school.

With testing and assessment a fixture of American education since the mid-nineteenth century, the title for this volume may be puzzling. Is it possible that we have been relying on a complex and evolving set of methods and metrics for the assessment of teaching, learning, and schooling for this long without having a clear and accepted understanding of its uses? Cynics might take the question as affirmation of failure in policy and politics: another instance of technology run amok without adequate public understanding or approval. Indeed, people agitated by the increasing and questionable role of test scores—to assess learning and achievement, to influence curriculum and instruction, to hold students and their teachers accountable for results, to guide decisions about placement at various levels of education, and to inform cross-national comparisons of educational systems—might fault the question for its understatement. In short, we sense that some readers may be answering our query: “It’s about time someone asked.”

[...]we are much better equipped to understand, assess, and improve reading comprehension in 2020 than we were in 2010, when the RfU began. [...]the RfU highlighted the other side of the all-important relationship of knowledge to comprehension, focusing more attention on how comprehension shapes knowledge-knowledge that is then available to use in other learning and application tasks, such as writing an argument, telling a story, or solving a problem. [...]one reading of the RfU is that it has given us a glimpse of what an alternative culture of comprehension pedagogy might look like.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions to healthcare, including direct impacts on service delivery related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Caregiver-mediated tele-assessment offers an opportunity to continue services while adhering to social distancing guidelines. The present study describes a model of tele-assessment for ASD in young children, implemented in direct response to disruptions in care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We present preliminary data on the outcomes and provider perceptions of tele-assessments, together with several lessons learned during the period of initial implementation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of telemedicine as an avenue to address the need for diagnostic clarification in young children at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although preliminary research has supported the use of telemedicine for identifying ASD in toddlers, little is known about the experiences of practitioners attempting direct-to-home tele-assessment. We surveyed diagnostic providers regarding changes in practice behavior in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic and their perceptions of ASD tele-assessment. We also examined the use of the TELE-ASD-PEDS, a novel tool for ASD tele-assessment, in response to COVID-19 at seven sites across the country. Results support the clinical acceptability and diagnostic utility of ASD tele-assessment while also highlighting critical avenues of future investigation.

Greg Ogrinc and colleagues call for greater exploitation of the synergies between quality improvement and implementation science in improving care